Coiling machine and method of winding coils



Sept. 20, 1932. E. A. DEWALD 1,878,233

OOILING MACHINE AND METHOD OF WINDING GOILS Filed Oct. 29.' 1929 I '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Sept. 20, 1932. E. A. DEWALD COILING MACHINE AND METHOD OF WINDING COILS Filed Oct. 29. 1929 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 E. A. DEWALD 1,878,233

Sept. 20, 1932.

comma MACHINE AND METHOD OF wmnme cons Filed Oct. 29. 1929 v sheets-sheet :5

.Z ATTORNEY-5 Sept! 2 1932- I E. A. DEWALD 1,878,233

COILI NG MACHINE AND METHOD OF' WINDING COILS Filed Oct. 29. 1929 v 7Sheets-Sheet 4 g -INVENTOR BY -MI i ATTORNEYS Se t, 20, 1932. DEWALD 1,878,23

COILING MACHINE AND METHOD OF WINDING COILS Filed 001;. 29. 1929 7 Sheets -Sheet 5 INVENTOR v 64;, A, zuflwzvg fla BY k ATTORNEYS Sept. 20, 1932. E. A. DEWALD COILING MACHINE 'AND METHOD WINDING COILS Filed Oct. 29. 1929 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR x1 ATTORNEYS Sept. 20, 1932. E. A. DEWALD 1,878,233

COILING MACHINE AND METHOD OF WINDING COILS Filed Oct. 29. 1929 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 (jg m3 wu/ 4, aw BY Am am? W ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 20. 1932 EDWARD a nnwann, or massILLon, OHIO, ASSIGNOR 'ro PANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A

THE onIscoM-nnssELL oom- CORPORATION OF DELAWARE v GOILING MACHINE AND METHOD OF WINDING COILS Application filed October 29,. 1929. Serial No. 403,193.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of coils, and more particularly to the winding of thin metallic strip or ribbon edgewise to form ringsor coils.

The invention has for its object the'provision of an improved method and an improved apparatus for producing edgewise wound rmgs or coils of one or more turns'of uniform and accurate size and at as low a manufac- 1 turing cost as possible.

Specifically, the invention aims, among other-things, to avoid the necessity of attaching ribbon to the core form; to provide for the continuous production of helical'coils of .15 any length, the length of the coil being independent of the length of the core form; to form helical coils in such manner that the wound ribbon will be of substantially the same thickness throughout its width and 20 have no crimping or thickening at its inner edge, toreadily produce coils in Iquantity having eachthe same number of convolutions; to provide amachine which is capable of producing coils of a suitable range of sizes 25 both in diameterand width of ribbon; and to. provide a winding mechanism which offers no difliculty in starting the winding of the coil.

In the accompanying drawings there is 30 illustrated by way of example a machine embodying the principles of my invention, and the invention will be described in detail in connection with these drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front ele forming machine,

Figure 2 is an elevation of the machine looking from the right side partly in section,

Figure 3 is a plan view of the machine,

Fig. v4 is a section on line 44 of Fig. 3 showing part of the coil length controlling mechanism,

Fig. 5 is a section on line 55 of Fig.3 also showing part of the coil length controlling mechanism,

Fig. (5 is a section on line 66 of Fig.2 showing a detail oi the coil length controlling mechanism,

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section taken on line vation of the coil 2 showing the ribbon d 7'7 of Fig. 1 showing the coil forming or winding mechanism,

Fig. 8 is a section taken on line 88 of Fig.

efiector. This sec- ?on igat right anglesto the section shown in Fig. '9 is a section taken on 1ine 99 of Fig. 1- showing a detail of one adj ustment; ig." 10 is an enlarged plan view of the lower winding head.

Fig. 11 is a diagram of winding angles. Figs. 12 to 17 inclusive are diagrammatic views of the coil winding portions of the winding mechanism illustrating the method of winding. Figs. 12, 14 and 16 are sections. taken on the lines indicated in Figs. 13, and 17 respectively, and Fig. 18 is a perspective view'showing a few turns of edgewise wound coil which is the product of the invention.

Fig. 19- illustrates the construction of the ribbon guide.

Fig. 20 is a section taken on line 2020 of Fig. 13 showing the relation of the ribbon guide to the windingmechanism at the instant when winding commences.

Referring now to the accompanying draw.- ings, the machine is supported on a frame- 'work comprising a base 20, a front support 21 and rear supports 22. The coil forming or winding mechanism indicated generally by numeral 23 and comprising an upper. winding head 24 and a lower winding head 25 is housed in a hood-shaped casting 26 (see Fig. 3). 1

The details of'the winding mechanism and its method of operation will be described more fully below, but in order to first obtaln a general understanding of the operation of. the machine, it is sufiiclent to state that the thin metallic ribbon 27, preferably annealed to render it soft and workable, is carried upon a magazine reel 28 suitably supported for rotation upon the left hand side of the machine. Ribbon 27 passes over a guide pulley 29 through ribbon guide 30 which delivers it to the winding mechanism 23 by which it is wound or coiled into the product shown in Fig. 18, which descends continuously through the hollow center of lower winding head 25 and collects upon the receiving spindle 31 which rotates with the winding mechanism so as to prevent twisting of the completely formed coil since this twisting would be liable to form kinks in or otherwise injure the shape of the coil.

When a coil of predetermined length or containing a predetermined, number of convolutions has been wound, the machine is stopped automatically by the coil length controlling mechanism which will be described presently, and the coilis removed from the machine on spindle 31, laced upon a suitable receiving rod (not s own), and spindle 31 is replaced in the coiling machine to receive another coil. ,p The above completes the description of the general operation of the machine, and the details of the drive for the coil forming mechanism, for receivin spindle 31, and the details of the coil length controlling mechanism will now be considered.

The main shaft 32 of the machine is carried in a bearin bracket bolted at the rear of base 20 andthe front bearing brackets 33 mounted on the top of the hood-shaped housing 26. The rear portion of main shaft 32 is continuously driven by motor 34 the pinion of which meshes with gear 35.. Theforward portion of main shaft. 32 is clutched to the rear. portionby clutch 36.

The upper winding head 241s mounted on the lower end of a vertical shaft 37- (see Fig.

7), and on the upper end of this shaft there is a helical gear 38 which meshes with a similar helical gear 39 keyed to main shaft 32.

This therefore completes the drive for the up} per winding head 24. I y

In order to drive the lower winding head 25, avertical countershaft40 is appropriate ly mounted upon the right side of housing 26, and sprockets 41 and 42 are keyed to the upper and lower ends respectively of this shaft. The countershaft is driven by means of a chain 43 passing over a sprocket 44 which is keyed to shaft 37 just below spiral gear 38. The lower winding head 25 is mounted on a hollow shaft 45, and a sprocket 46 is mounted on the lower end of this shaft. The lower winding head is driven by a chain 47 passing over sprockets 42 and 46. Sprockets 44, 41, 42 and 46 are all of the same diameter so that the lower winding head 25 is driven at exactly the same speed as the upper winding head 24.

is received in an open ended slot 51 on theupper end of socket 48.

Vertical shaft 52 upon which socket 48 is or other suitable friction material in its low-- er face. Driven disc 58 is keyed to the lower end of the shaft 52 and is slidable vertically thereon for a fraction of an inch through the action of a spring 60 which maintains the disc in engagement with the driving disc 57. 1

.Ithas beenlfound that receiving spindle 31 cannot be driven at precisely the same speed as the winding mechanism 23. This is believed to be. due to a very slight unwinding of the ribbon when it is released from the Winding mechanism, so that say for every one hundredrevolutions of the winding mechanism only about ninety-seven turns of coil arev produced. In order to provide for the minute speed adjustment necessary to lower thespeed of spindle 31 to this slight extent, driving disc 57 is mounted so as to be adjustable longitudinally of shaft 53. This ad justment issecured by means of the nuts shown on each side of disc 57.

By means of this slight speed adjustment, and the prevention of back lash in the'drive of spindle 31, the spindle is caused to receive the formed coil smoothly and without injury to the coil by kinks, and the coil is preserved in perfect helical condition.

The physical characteristics of the metal of the ribbon 27 may vary slightly from one batch to another. For example when edge wise coils are to made from copper or aluminum ribbon, the ribbon is usually made by the cold flattening of a Wire circular in cross section. The metal of the original wire may not always be uniform in quality, or the flattening and annealing or other treatment operations to which the material is subjected may not always leave the ribbon uniformly flat. Consequently the resiliency of the coil after it is wound will vary to some extent and accordingly the ribbon will unwind to a greater or less extent as it leaves the winding mechanism. The speed adjustment just described for the drive of receiving spindle 31 enables the speed of this spindle to be easily adjusted to compensate for such differences in the quality of the metal ribbon.

The coil length controlling mechanism is illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Clutch 36 is operated by means of a clutch lever 61 through an aperture in front support 21 and is surrounded by a coil spring 65 which biases the rod and clutch lever 61 toward the right as viewed in Fig. 2 or in other words toward the position in which clutch 36 is released and I the operation of the entire machinestopped.

A starting lever-66 for startin the operation of the winding machine is plvoted at 67 to the outside of front support 21. When lever 66 is pushed down, a surface 68 on the lever engages a head 69 on the outer end of rod 64, the lever 66, being slotted assho'wn' at 70 in Fig. 1-to permit the passage of rod 64 therethrough. This engagement of the head 69 on red 64 moves the rod forward to the vertical position shown in Fig. 2 compressing spring 65. j

This movement of clutch lever 61 causes clutch 36 to be engaged and starts the machine in operation. Lever 61 and rod 64 are held in this position by means of a latch bar 71 which is just above aperture 63 (see Figs. 5 and 2). This latch bar slides into the path of lever 61 under the action of a coil spring 72 when the lever reaches the vertical position shown in-Fig. 2. The operator thenre-. leases starting lever 66 and it is returned to the position shown in' Fig. 2 by means of spring 73. Hence when clutch lever 61 is tripped by the release of latch bar 71, as will presently be described. the spring 65 in moving the clutch lever to the off or disengaged position is relieved from the work of alsolifting starting lever 66.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 5, latch bar 71 is tripped to release clutch lever 61 by means of a counting chain 74 which moves slowly in the direction of the full arrow, and which is provided with a high link 75 that engages a projection 76 on the top of the latch bar. Measuring chain 74 is carried between sprockets 77 and 78. Sprocket 77 is the driving sprocket and is fixed to a short shaft 79 which turns in bearings located about midway of the height of a pair of'brackets 80 which are bolted to the base 20 near the right hand side of the machine as viewed in Fig. 3, and shown at the left of Fig. 5.

The sprocket 78 is an idle sprocket and is mounted on the short shaft 81 which is parallel to shaft 79 and located on the left hand side of the machine. The bearing housings 82 for the bearings of shaft 81 are mounted upon the ends of rods which are slidable in apertures in the left hand end of hollow reetangular casting 83 which is mounted upon an extension of base 20. Locknuts 84 are threaded upon the outer portions of these rods and afford means of adjusting the position of bearing housings 82 so as to stretch measuring chain 74 taut.

Mounted at the upper ends of brackets 80 and immediately above shaft 79 is another short shaft 85. A sprocket 86 is keyed to one end of this shaft and is driven by means of a chain 87 from a sprocket 88 on main shaft 32. On the opposite end of shaft 85 is a crank pin 89 (see Fig. 6) which has a short throw of only a fraction of an inch, and mountedupon this crank pin is a pawl or ratchet 90 which drives ratchet wheel'91 fixed immediately be low it to the end of shaft 79. Ratchet 9,0 is provided with a handle 92 by which it maybe lifted out of engagement with ratchet wheel 91.

I By means of this construction chain 87 drives shaft 85 continuously as long as the machine is in operation, and the reciprocation of ratchet 90 drives ratchet wheel 91 which in turn causes measuring chain 7 4 to advance in a step-by-step movement in the direction of the full arrow shown in Figs. 6 and 5. Inasmuch as sprocket 86 has twice as many teeth as sprocket 88', ratchet wheel 91' is rotated one tooth for each two revolutions of the winding mechanism, or in other words,one tooth for substantially every two turns of coil produced.

It will be understood from the above that v v if high link 75 of the measuring chain 74 is placed at a given predetermined distance from projection 76- on latch bar 71, and the machine started in operation, high link 75 has been moved step at a time by the time I by themechanism just described until it reaches the latch bar and trips the clutch, a

given predetermined length of coil will have been wound. Moreover, if after this coil has been wound the high link 75 is returned to the same predetermined position, and the machine again started in operation, a second coil of precisely the same length as thefirst will be produced, and this production of identical coils can be kept up indefinitely.

In order to release high'link 75 from ongagement with latch bar 71 after the clutch has been tripped, and in order to move the high link back to suchv a given predetermined position, a handle 93 is provided on the outside of ratchet wheel9l, and by grasping this handle the operator may turn the wheel in the direction of the arrow shown, in Fig. 6, which in turn causes high link 75 to be moved back as desired, in the direction of the dotted arrow shown in Fig. 5.

In order to provide a convenient means for definitely locating the given v iredetermined position to which highlink 75 is to be moved, 7

an adjustable measuring post orstop 94 is provided. This measuringpost consists of an extension on the outer end of a knurled] nut 95 which is threaded upona :bolt, the.

head of which isreceived in. a T-snap'edslot short shafts 79 and 81 which support measuring chain 74.

,As may be seen in Fig.4, the T-slot 96 follows precisely the circuit of measuring chain 74 and is parallel thereto. The measuring post 94 may therefore be readily adjusted and set at any point in the path of high link 75, as for example as shown in Figs. 4, 5 or 6.

In getting the machine ready for operation, the measuring post 94 is accurately placed in the desired position so that the machine will be automatically stopped after a coil of the desired length has been wound. The machine operator before starting the machine grasps handle 93 and makes sure that the high link 75 is hard in engagement with the measuring post 94. He also makes sure that ratchet90 has been turned down into engagement with ratchet wheel 91 asshown in Fig. 6. He then depresses starting lever 66 which throws in clutch 36 as above described, and latch bar 71 holds the clutch lever 61 in the engaged position. The opere ator then releases thestarting lever, the machine having started and the winding of the coil commenced, and may attend to other duties during the progress of the windingof the coil.

The operation of the machine continues and the measuring chain 74, advances as previously described until high, link 7 5 engages the projection on latch bar 71 and causes the tripping of the clutch lever, 61 which is thrown to the disengaged position by means of spring 65. This stops the operation of everything on the machineexcept the rotation of the driving motor, gear35, and that portion of main shaft 32 which is ahead of clutch 36. The operator then severe. the finished coil at the bottom ofhollow shaft 45 of the lower winding head, removes the coil from the machine on receiving spindle 31 and replaces the spindle in the machine. He then lifts pawl 90 and by means of handle 93 turns the measuring chain back until high link 7 5 firmly engages the. measuring post 94.

Dropping pawl 90 back intoengagement with ratchet wheel 91, he then ,starts the machine again to produce another coil. It is impos sible for the operator to startthe machine 1 in normal operation again until he turns handle 93 backward to remove high link 75 from engagement with latch bar 71, because as long as high link 75 engages the latch bar the latch bar is prevented from locking clutch lever 61 in on position.

Referring now to Figs. 7 to 11 inclusive which illustrate. the details of the winding mechanism, the shaft 37 on the lower end ofwhich theupper winding head 24 is mounted,

' 1. is supported in two opposed tapered rollerbear'in'gs 99. These bearings are mounted in tlie'upper horizontal wall of the hood-shaped exerted against the upper winding head dur-' ing the winding operation, and also accurately hold the shaft against vertical movement either upwardly .or downwardly. A felt washer 100 which surrounds shaft 37 just above the upper winding head prevents the lubricant from the roller bearings from descending onto the .winding head.

In the center of the bottomof the winding head 24 is a steel pilot or core form 101 which determines theinside diameter of the helical coil, and which .is hardened and ground accurately to sizev so as to withstand long wear without. substantial change in shape or diameter.

.The working face 101 of the upper winding head is not quite at right angles to the axis of the head, but is inclined. slightly being formed by the inverted frustum of a cone of small height. This face is also'hardened and ground so as to withstand long wear.

, The lower winding head 25 comprises a heavy steel flange 102 from the lower part of which, and preferably integral therewith its hollow supporting shaft45 projects, and a somewhat thicker and larger circular supporting plate. 103. Supporting plate 103 is stationary and secured firmly to the-bottom of hood-shapedv housing 26 by means of bolts 104. The rotary flange 102 has six equally spaced radial slots in its upper face, in each of which there is mounted with a sliding fit The inner ends of these radially positionedjaw shanks. project upwardly to substantially the level of the upper surface of ring 106, and pro ecting inwardly therefrom are the jaws 108. The "inner edges of these jaws are curved to a diameter-but slightly larger than the diameter of the pilot 101, and the sides of the jaws areradially shaped so that all six of the jaws will fit together snugly. This may be seen in Fig. 10 where four of the jaws areshown in this closely fitting relationship.

- The working face 109 of the lower winding head is aflat annular surface made up of the segments formed by these jaws, and is raised slightly above the remainder of the aw surfaces. The width of working face 109 is equal to the working face 101 on the upper winding head.

As will be seen in Fig. 8, the ribbon-enters the space between the working faces 101 and 109 respectively under the control of the ribbon guide 30, and after being wound edgewise into helical form by the action of these workin faces, descends vertically in the form 0 a helical coil 110 directly beneath the jaws 108 through the center of rotating flange 102 and hollow shaft 45. Only a few turns of formed coil are shownin Fig. 8 but it will be understood that as more and more turns of coil are wound, they reach the top of receiving'spindle 31 upon which the coil is supported. j

In order to make room for the turns of coil 110 asthcy are formed, the jaws108 are cut away immediately beneath their working and the thickness of the formed coil. This will be mentioned more in detail later on.

In. order to allow the ribbon after it has been woundedgewise to the shape in which it appears in the coil, to leave working face 101, a portion of the annular working face 109 is removedor withdrawn from its operative po sition with respect to working face 101.

This is accomplished by moving certain of the jaws 108 outward radially as the lower winding head rotates. For this purpose rollers 111 are mounted upon the outer ends of the jaw shanks 105 which move in a cam groove 112. The portion of'cam groove 112 between the points A and B (Fig. 10) is cir-' cular and of suitable diameter to maintain the jaws 108 in juxtaposition to one another to form the annular working face 109. Hence as the flange 102 rotates all of the jaws which lie between the points A and B are always-in coil forming position.

From the point B to the point C there is an abrupt change in the radius of the cam groove 12 which throws jaws 108 outwardly so that they no longer grip the under side of the ribbon and are far enough to one side to permit the wound coil to descend into the space beneath them. The cam groove from the point C to the point D again is circular thereby maintaining the jaws in this outward position as they rotate between these two points. A'second abrupt change in the radius of the cam groove takes place between points D and A which forces the jaws back to their coil forming position.

- The cam track 112 is. formed by cam plates 115 made in convenient segments and secured to the circular plate 103 by means of screws as indicated in Fig. 10. It is desirable that the aw shanks 105 slide in and out without lost motion, or in otherwords that the rollers 111 bemaintained in contact with one wall or the other. of the cam groove 112, since the positions of these walls is intended to determ ne accurately -the positions of jaws 108. In order to attain this result, friction devices 114'are mounted in recesses in flange 102 beneath each of the jaw shanks, 105. Each of these devices consists of a steel plugurged upwardly by means of. a coil springp In case there should be any tendencyfor.

which this angle of tilt the wound ribbon to stick to the working face 101, of the upper winding head, a stationary jacent to working face 101 at a position somewhere between the points B and D where the jaws 108 are withdrawn. 4

As will be seen in Figs. 8, 1, 12 and 14, the

lower winding head 25 is tilted to a slight extent with =respect to the axis of the winding head 24. The extent of this tilting is suchas to make theflat annular working facel09par .allel with the conical working face 101 on the opposite side of the winding axis from ribbon guide 30. The tilting of the winding face 109 in this manner is accomplished by tllting the circular plate'103 which supports the low-.

ribbon deflector 113 is mounted closely ador windingmechanism 25 with respect to the surface on which it rests, namely, the bottom of the hood-shaped housing 26.

The details of the adjusting mechanism by is obtained is shown in Figs, 9, 1 and 7. A hole 116 is drilled through cam plates 115 and circular plate 103. This hole is counterbored from the bottom and tapped to receive an elevating screw 117. The counterbore is then again counterbored to a slightly larger diameter to allow a steel plug 118 to be received and slide therein. Screw 118 has a square or hexagonal recess, in its upper surface to receive a plug wrench through the hole 116. These adjusting screws 117 are placed in pairs apart around the irdge of circular plate 103-asmay be seen in Both the spacing of working faces 101 and 109 in the winding mechanism and the tilting of these-faces to bring them into parallelism as above described is effected by means of these adjusting. screws. In settin up the machine for operation, bolts 104 whlch hold the circular plate 103to the bottom of hous in 26 are first loosened, and then the screws 11? are adjusted until the proper separation of the working faces 101 and 109 and'the proper angle of tilt is obtained. Then bolts 104 are set up.

,As explained above, the winding heads 24 and 25 are tilted with respect to each other and both of these heads are connected to the counter shaft 40. The shafts .37 and 45 are connected to the counter shaftby chains cooperating with sprocket wheels on these shafts and. this driving mechanism is sufiiciently flexible to make due allowance" for 1 center of recess 1.20 is another shallow recess 121 which forms a channel in. which the rib bon slides. A flat strip 122 is secured by 'operas to support the ribbon on all sides up to the point where it enters between the working faces 101 and 109.

Thedetails of the method of winding will be understood from a consideration of Figs. 13, 15 and 17 and their corresponding sections, Figs. 12,14 and 16.

It will he assumed that the distance between the working faces 101 and 109 at their point of parallelism as shown in Fig. 12, is somewhat less than the thickness of the uncoiled straight ribbon 27. It will be understood that the working faces 101 and 109 are parallel at one point only which theoretically at least is a radial line ab. Along this line the two working faces are closer together than they are at any other point. In fact in both ,directions from this line at both sides of the axis of the rotating heads, the working faces gradually recede from each other until their point of maximum separation c is reached directly opposite the line ab.

The ribbon 27 is delivered from the ribbon guide 30 directly between the open working faces 101 and 109 just to the left of the point 0, parallel with the line bc and tangent to the core form 101 at the point cl. The spacing of the working faces 101 and 109 is such that as the point (1 is reached the working faces begin to grip the sides of the ribbon (see Fig. 20). guide 30 and before reaching point (i, the sides of the ribbon although confined against any largevertical movement, are not actually gripped by the working faces.

On account of the relativeslope above described between the working faces, the gripping action which begins to take place at the point d occurs at first only at the inner edge of the ribbon. Fig. 13 shows the end of ribbon 27 as it has just reached point d where the gripping of its inner edge begins. As the rotation of the winding heads continues, the fact that the ribbon is gripped only in the region of the inner edge adjacent the core form causes this inner edge to be drawn or pulled in a circular path by the inner portions of the working faces 101 and 109 which grip it.

This action is the same as though a small thread or wire were fed in between the work.- ing faces. at point (2 adjacent the surface of the core form. Such a thread or wire would be wound around the core form by this rotation of the gripping working faces. In just this way the gripping of the inner edge of the ribbon 27 winds the inner edge about the surface of the core form, and this inner edge After leaving the ribbonv of necessity carries with it the remainder of the width of the ribbon, winding or bending the entire width of the ribbon edgewise.

If the region of gripping which commences at the point (i (see Figs. 15 and 20) were maintained constant in width, the material of the ribbon outside of this region would be stretched so that its thickness would be de creased during the winding. However, in the particular winding machine which I have illustrated in the drawings of this application, the area of this region of gripping consta'ntly increases as the end of the ribbon is carried ,aroundithe core form from the point d to the line a-b, because of the fact that the working faces 101 and 109 are at a slight an; gle to one another as previously described, and hence continuously approach each other until the line ab is reached. The gradual increasein width of this gripping area is indicated by the dotted line 123 in Fig. 15.

The fact that the working faces 101 and 109 approach each other as just described, during the movement through the angle from the point d to the line (Ir-b, causes a squeezing of the ribbon to take place simul-. taneously with the edgewise winding thereof so as to cause an outward fiow of the metal of the ribbon. This outward flow of metal compensates for the decrease in thickness caused by the greater amount of stretch which must necessarily take place near the outer periphery of the ribbon when it is wound edgewise. All of the bending in the ribbon necessary to form a helical coil takes place in the 90 angle between the point a? and the line wb. As mentioned previously, however, there is a tendency for the coil to unwind slightly, and this tendency is reduced to the relatively small amount mentioned, namely, approximately 97 turns for each one hundred revolutions of the winding mechanism, by continuing the gripping action of the working faces 101 and 109 beyond the line a-b, instead of by withdrawing the jaws at that point.

Accordingly the point B of the cam groove 112 is placed 60 from line 0-6 so that the inner edge of the ribbon is gripped tightly by the working faces 101 and 109 until the cam rollers 111 successively reach the point B when the grip on the ribbon is immediately released by the outward movement of the jaws. The total winding angle through which the gripping of the inner edge of the ribbon takes place is therefore 150 as indicated in Fig. 11.

After the ribbon passes the line (2-?) which is the point of closest proximity between the two working faces 101 and 1.09, the area of gripping contact between the spaces and the ribbon decreases somewhat as indicated by the dotted line 124 in Fig. 17 which of course changes its curvature abruptly and drops to zero immediately upon the recession of the which is shown in Fig. 16, but if it should.

tend to adhere to thisface,v it is wedged loose therefrom byt-he, nose the ribbon deflector It willbe understood that variationsin the shape of the cross section-of the wound .rib-,

bon may be made by adjusting the circular plate 103 so as to bring the lower working face 109 closerto or further from the upper-working face 101', and that ,variations may also be madeby changing theangle of-tilt of the lower workingfface Thus, for example, the cross section of the wound ribbon may be made to taperslightly either toward the inworking face 109 slightly out ofv parallel in one direction orthe other with face 101 along the line a.b. Also by increasing the facing.

between the two working faces, the dotted .line 123 may. be prevented from intersecting the outer edge of the ribbon so that the portion. of the ribbon outside of line 123, orin other words beyond the gripping area of the working faces, would be slightly thinner than the remainder of the ribbon, and would also taper slightly in thickness on account of the stretching action during winding.

7 On account of the fact that according to my improved method of edgewise winding the metallic strip which is to be wound is gripped 1 only at its inner edge at the commencement of the winding, and this edge is pulled around a core form, the ribbon while it is being wound tends to hug the core form rather than tobeurged away from it, and consequently 'the' starting of the winding operation is without .difiiculty. All that is necessary to be done is tothread the end of the ribbon through the ribbon guideuntil the end as itbegins .tofbe. gripped at its inner edge by the'rotating windinghead. The-,rotation of r the heads then; immediately carries .the endof l the ribbon on. around .the 1 core through the ,positimisshown in. Figs. 15;.and 17 suceessively, and the ,end'soon after leaving the latterpositionisideflected by the ribbon deflector I113 andthe coilbeginsjtocollect in the space beneath jaws-1 08 as previously described.

tp be shownev en with one of thejointsibegtwee n the segmental-jaws 108,but" itwillbe 'I hii .eii ndii s.t iu n e o my invs tion carrying out my improved method 5 of: winding metal ribbon edgewise tov form her .or the outer edge by. setting the lower.

jshownin Fig.v 13 reaches the point dwhere helicalcoils, and the invention Will be understood to extend to such other embodiments as come within the scope of the appended claims.

. 1. The method of winding metallic ribbon ed gewise to form a coil which comprises grip ping the sides of the ribbon in a narrow region adjacentthe edgewhich is to be on .the inside of the coil, and carrying said gripped portion edgewise about. a core form while restraining the unwound portion of the ribbon against r01 tation and while"; confining the outer un gripped sides of the ribbon to prevent the buckling thereof. t i

2.- The method of winding metallic ribbon edgewise to form a coil which comprises gripping portions of the sides of the ribbon adj a cent; the edge which is to be on the inside of the coil, .carryingsaid gripped part of the ribbon edgewise about a core form, increasing the gripping pressure as the ribbon .moves around the core form to cause a. flow of metaltowardthe outer edge of the ribbon, and restraining the unwound against rotation. i

3. The method of winding metallic ribbon portion of the ribbon edgewise to form a helical coil which comprises gripping the sides of the ribbon in a narrow region adjacent the edge which is to be on the inside of the coil, carrying said gripped portion edgewise about a core form while restraining the unwound portion of the ribbon against rotation and while confining the outer ungripped sides of-the ribbon to prevent buckling, and releasing the said gripped portion before making a complete turn about the core form.

4. The method of winding metallic ribbon edgewise to form a helical coil which comprises progressively and continuously gripping the sides of the ribbon adjacent the edge which is to be on theinside of the coil, carrying the thus gripped ribbon edgewise about a core form While restraining the unwound portion of the ribbon against rotation and while confining the outer ungripped sides of the ribbon to prevent the buckling'thereof," andprogressively and continuously releasing edgewise to form a ;helical,;coil which com prisesv progressively and continuously gripping the portioniof the; sides of the ribbon adj acentthe edge-which to be onthe' inside .of the coil, carryingthe saidigripped part 7 the IlbbOll. edgewiser aboutacoreform, gradually increasing the. grippmgpressure and areaof gripping as theribbon moves 7 aroundthe, core form, restrammgtlaennwound portion of the ribbon against rotation, and progressively and continuously releasing the gripped ribbon before. completing the first turn aboutthe core form. y H

y 6. In a coil winding mechanism thecomof the sectional head from coacting with the unitary head during a part of each revolution of the winding mechanism to permit the coil to pass beyond the sectional winding head. and a Wedge shaped ribbon deflector mounted adjacent the unitary head to remove the wound ribbon therefrom.

8. In a coil winding mechanism the combination of a unitary rotary winding head, a

coacting sectional rotary winding head, means for guiding ribbon therebetween and means for shifting radially outward a portion of the sections of said sectional head to remove said portion from coaction with the unitary head during a part of each revolution of the winding mechanism to permit the coil to pass beyond the sectional winding head.

9. In a coil winding mechanism the combination of a unitary rotary head having a working face on the end thereof, a second rotary head havin a working face coacting with the working ace of the unitary rotary head and comprising a-plurality of radially movable" segments, means for moving said segments successively out of coaction with the working face of the unitary head at one point in the rotation of said heads, and means for successively returning said segments into coaction with said working face at another point in the rotation of said heads.

10,. Ina coil winding mechanism the combination of a unitary rotary head having a conical working face on one end thereof a sectional rotary head having a flat circu ar workingface, means for supporting said sectional rotary head with its axis at an angle to the axis of the unitaryrotary head thus bringing the coacting workin faces closer together at one .point of their peripheries than at all other points, means for guidin ribbon between said coacting faces, an

means for removing a ortion of the sections.

of said sectional hea from coaction with the unitary rotary head during a part of each revolution of said rotary heads to permit the coil to pas beyond said sectional head.

11. In a coil winding mechanismthe combination of a pair of rotary winding heads having coacting annular working faces one of which is conical, means for supporting said rotary heads with their axes at an angle to one another so as to bring said workin faces closer together at one point than at a5 other points, one of saidrheads being constructed in the form of a plurality of radially movable segments, and means for moving said segments outwardly to remove a. portion of the annular coactin face thereof from coaction with the worklng face of the other rotary head during a part of each revolution to permit the wound coil to pass out from between said coacting workin faces.

12. In a coil winding mec anism the combination of a conical rotary head, a flat circular rotary headcomprising a lurality of radially movable sections, means or supporting said rotary heads with their axes at an angle to one another so that said heads are closer together at one point in their circumference than at all others, means for guiding ribbon between said rotaryheads at a point substantially 90 in advance of the point of closest relationship, means for moving the sections of said sectional head successively outward at a point beyond said point of closest relationship to release the wound ribbon from the winding action of said heads, and means for moving said sections radially inward at a. point in advance of the point where the incoming ribbon is received between the winding heads.

13. A machine for winding metal ribbon edgewise to form helical coils comprising a rotary winding head having a conical end face, a flat segmental plate mounted for rotation in close proximity to said conical end face, the axis of said plate being tilted slightly with respect to the axis of said head bringing the face of said plate into substantial parallelism with an element of said conical face, means for rotating said head and said segmental plate at the same speed, means for guiding ribbon between said head and plate, and means for successively shifting the segments of said plate away from said conical end face at one point in the rotation of said head and plate to permit the wound coil to pass beyond the same.

' 14. A machine for winding metal ribbon edgewise to form helical coils comprising a winding head having a conical end face, a core form projecting therefrom, a flat segmental plate mounted for rotation in close proximity to said conical end face, the axis of said plate being tilted slightly with respect to the axis of said head, means for rotating said head and said segmental plate at the same speed, means for guiding ribbon between said head and plate, and means for successively shifting 'th e segments of said plateaway from said conical end face at one .point in the rotation of said head and plate to permit the wound coil to pass beyond the same. i

15. A machinefor winding metal ribbon edgewise to form coils comprising upper tending outwardl of, means for bination of rotary and lower rotary winding heads tilted slightly with respect to each other, the upper winding head having a conical working face for engaging the upper surface of the ribbon, the lower winding head having a flat working face for engaging the lower surface of the ribbon, means for guiding ribbon between said working faces, and holding it against rotation, a core form disposed between said working faces, portion of the lower working face after the winding of the ribbon is finished to permit the coil to leave the upper working face and pass beneath the lower working face.

16. In a machine for winding metal ribbon edgewise to form helical coils, a winding head comprising a rotary disc having an aperture in the center and radial slots exfrom said aperture, a bar slidable radially in each of said slots, a jaw on the inner end of each of said bars and having a section of a winding face on the outer surface thereof, and means for moving said bars radially in said slots during the rotation of said disc.

17. In a machine for winding metal ribbon edgewise to form helical coils, a winding head comprising a rotary disc having an aperture in the center thereof and a plurality of radial slots extending outwardly from said aperture, a bar in each of said slots havin a segmental jaw on the inner end thereof, said jaws when in juxtaposition forming a ribbon winding face, a supporting plate for rotatably supporting said disc, said support- .ing plate'being larger in diameter than said disc and having a cam groove in its outer upper face, and a roller mounted upon the outer end of each of said bars and disposed 'in said cam groove.

, 18. In a machine for winding metal'ribbon edgewise to bination of a solid winding head and a second winding head mounted to rotate in close- 1y spaced relationship to said solid head and having an aperture through the center thereguiding ribbon into the space between said rotating heads, and means for receiving the wound coil through the aperture in said second winding head.

19. In a machine forwinding metal 'ribbon edgewise to form helical coils, the comwinding mechanism adapted to receive the ribbon tangentially thereto, and deliver the wound coil axially thereof, a rotary coil receiving device mounted for rotation coaxially with the winding mechanism, and means for rotating said receiving device at a speed just below the speed of the winding mechanis v 20. In a machine for winding metal ribbon edgewise to form helical coils, the combination of rotary winding mechanism adapted to receive the ribbon tangentially thereto, and

and means for removing a' form helical coils, the comdeliver the wound coil'axially thereof, a rotary coil receiving device mounted forrotatlon coaxially with the winding mechanism, means ior rotating said receivin device at a speed just below the speed of winding mechanism, the speed of rotation of said receiving device.

21. In a machine for'winding metal ribbon edgewise to form helical coils, a rotary the and means for varying winding head rotating on an axis fixed with 3 respect to the frame of the machine, a second rotary winding head comprising a rotating disc, and a supporting plate for rotatably supporting said disc, a surface on said machine frame at right angles to the axis of said fixed rotary head for carrying said supporting plate, and means for tilting said supporting plate with respect to said surface so as to tilt the axis of said second winding head with respect to said fixed axis.

22. In a machine for winding metal ribbon edgewise to form helical coils, a rotary winding head rotating on an axis fixed with respect to the frame of the machine, a second rotary winding head comprising a rotating disc, and a supporting plate for rotatably supporting said disc, a surface on said machine frame at right angles to the axis of said fixed rotary head for carrying said supporting plate, said supporting plate being provided g with a plurality of adjusting screws mounted around the periphery thereof for varying the spacing of said supporting plate with respect to said surface, and clamping bolts for clamping said supporting plate and said surface together. 7

23. In a machine for winding metal ribbon edgewise .to form helical coils, a continuous rotary winding mechanism for forming said coils, a clutch for starting and stopping said winding mechanism, an actuatinglever for said clutch biased to the off position, a 'coil length measuring chain driven at a speed proportional to that of the coil winding mechanism, a latch for holding said clutch lever in the engaged position and a high link on said chain for engaging said latch and tripping the clutch lever when a predetermined length of coil has been wound.

24. In a machine for winding metal ribbon edgewise to form helical coils, a continuous rotary winding mechanism for forming said coils, a clutch for starting and stopping said winding mechanism, an actuating lever for.

the coil winding mechanism, a stop for said high link, means for adjustably supporting said stop at any desired point in the path of said link for determinin the length of said chain between said high hnk and said actuat-' ing lever when the winding of a coil is commenced, and means for moving said chain to withdraw said high link from said actuating lever and into engagement with said stop.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

EDWARD A. DEWALD. 

